Vegan and Macrobiotic Cooking Classes in Honolulu, Personal Chef Services, Lifestyle Coach, Macrobiotic and Sustainable Living provided by Leslie Ashburn.
Leslie is a community activist dedicated to social justice, food sovereignty, and food security in Hawaii.
See her website at www.macrobiotichawaii.com for all the local cooking classes and other healthy living information.

Researchers have identified a potential mechanism by which tumors in miceescape attack from antitumor immune cells. This escape is facilitated when tumors produce a molecule called adenosine that inactivates antitumor immune cells by binding to receptors on their cell surfaces, the researchers found. Consequently, the immune cells behave as though the tumors are normal tissue, and an attack is averted. This research was conducted by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), both part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and their collaborators. Theresults are reported in the August 14, 2006, online issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences*.

“This work may be complementary to efforts of cancer immunologists who have developed many clever ways to improve the development of antitumor T cells,” said NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. “The cross-fertilization of research between the field of immunology and cancer is a fruitful one that is paying dividends with this new finding.”

“Tumors have hijacked a mechanism that evolved to protect normal tissues from collateral damage that occurs when the body mounts a defense against infection,” said lead researcher Misha Sitkovsky, Ph.D., who until recently was at NIAID. Sitkovsky is now at the New England Inflammation and Tissue Protection Institute, a consortium at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass.

The findings extend research published in Nature in 2001 by Sitkovsky and colleagues into the role of adenosine in regulating inflammation. Inflammatory chemicals produced by the immune system in response to infection or injury must eventually be switched off so that excessive tissue damage can be avoided.

Sitkovsky and his colleagues have shown that one consequence ofinflammation -- a drop in oxygen levels in the inflamed tissues -- triggers the release of adenosine from surrounding cells and serves as atissue-protecting stop signal. This is because when adenosine binds to so-called A2A adenosine receptors on immune cells in the inflamed region, the production of damaging inflammatory molecules is slowed.

In the new study, the researchers tested whether the same mechanism protects cancerous tissues from antitumor T cells by evaluating the effects of genetically deleting A2A adenosine receptors in mice. The experiments showed that antitumor T cells that lack A2A adenosine receptors can overcome tumor defenses and eradicate tumor cells.

“We showed that if antitumor T cells do not express A2A adenosine receptors due to a genetic deletion, then these antitumor T cells can overcome adenosine-based tumor defense mechanisms. As a result, the majority of these mice rejected their tumors and survived significantly longer,” said co-researcher Scott Abrams, Ph.D., of NCI’s Center for Cancer Research. By comparison, normal mice that had antitumor T cells with intact A2A adenosine receptors experienced uncontrolled tumor growth and died. Abrams added, “These proof-of-concept experiments also raise the idea that this type of tumor escape mechanism may serve as a target for therapeutic intervention.”

To begin to explore that idea, the researchers pharmacologicallyinactivated the A2A adenosine receptor using substances such as caffeine and others to make antitumor T cells less susceptible to inhibition by tumor-produced adenosine. The majority of mice in these experiments had much better antitumor immune responses and delayed tumor growth.

The genetic inactivation strategy was not effective in about 40 percent of the mice, however. The researchers suggest that one reason may be the existence of other adenosine receptors in these mice, and identifying these molecules will be a focus of future research.

“Now we may be able to prevent a hostile tumor microenvironment from inhibiting the antitumor T cells. I have been extremely fascinated and puzzled by the paradoxical coexistence of tumors and anti-tumor immune cells in the same cancer patient,” added Sitkovsky. “I have been considering this contradiction for the past 30 years.”

“Greater understanding of the tumor microenvironment and its relationship to other cells in the body is not just enhancing our knowledge of cancer; it could eventually lead to new treatments and better ways to monitor those treatments,” said NCI Acting Director John E. Niederhuber, M.D.

The NIH -- The Nation's Medical Research Agency -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI Web site athttp://www.cancer.gov, or call NCI’s Cancer Information Service at1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).

NIAID supports basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria and illness from potential agents of bioterrorism. NIAID also supports research on basic immunology, transplantation and immune-related disorders, including autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergies.

Paige (left) and I (right) co-managed a team of 8 cooking class volunteers. These were a few of our great team members, Kevin, Ceri, Barbara, and Anita. They helped us a lot doing a really demanding job.

This was my first ever trip to the KI. I was super exhausted after a week of working 12 to 17 hour days non-stop as the KI Summer Conference Cooking Class Team Leader. The reason for going up was to help put away the cooking utensils and food from the 5-day conference. It was great to be in Becket and to finally see what the KI is like. The food is sooo yummy!

1) Health recovery in the next 2 years. His ascending colon was 98% blocked which caused a water control problem for him. Since they removed part of the upward colon, where it was attached to his small intestine and appendix, this has been causing trembling and weakness in his legs. Left untreated, his condition could have led to a heart attack. His B-12 synthesis has been reduced and sometimes he requires shots. In the next couple of years, he’ll remain on a reduced schedule and try to recover his health. He said he’s been getting better and better all the time.

2) He’d like a comprehensive book of “Macrobios Whole View” or infinity from beginning of time to the end

3) He’d like a World Macrobiotic Federation with about 100 senior macrobiotic leaders from all over the world. The goals of this WMF would be to:

a. have 2 – 3 days of special studies with group tours between countriesb. hold more international eventsc. have the countries/centers do their events (e.g., summer conferences) at different times to enable people to attend everythingd. make borders obsolete e. create a world Constitution (i.e., Declaration of Independence-like document) and present to current world leaders in 2 to 3 years.

4) He’d like the current form of energy to change or to have another Industrial Revolution. At the moment, we’re using too much energy, digging too many minerals and oil, and burning too much oil, causing extensive pollution. The additional developing countries are now adding to this pollution. We need to avoid more global warming, and he makes this a 10-year goal. We need a new energy source such as:

a. the energy of Earth’s rotationb. the transmutation of atoms from the 8 light elements into heavier elements

5) We need to recognize our ultimate purpose of having a spiritual and peaceful human kind, and practice self-love and love towards others. Religion, in his estimation, is not making a definite contribution to peace. The focus should be removed from the physical and instead should be refocused on more developed spiritual and mental states. He estimates this will take approximately 2000 years to accomplish. Health should overcome violence, sickness, and conflict, creating a new civilization.

While Michio is still alive, he plans to teach more. One example of this would be to teach a new type of visual diagnosis. For example, currently, each part of the face represents a different organ. Another way to do this is to take the whole face to read each organ. Specifically, if you’re looking at a woman’s face and wanting to diagnose the reproductive system, the eyes represent the ovaries, and the area around the eye represents the fallopian tubes. The nose is the uterus, and just below the nose is the cervix, the lips the vagina, and around the mouth is the endometrium. Another example is the lungs; the right side of the face is the right lung, and the left side the left lung, respectively. He’d like to be able to teach several styles of visual diagnosis to us all.

He wants a teacher’s health curriculum.

He thanks everyone for the work they have been doing and though he may not remember names, he remembers faces.